Freeport Jetties, TX

Forty-eight hours of 3 kt SSW is too weak to muddy anything, so the pass has settled clean and the SE sea breeze filling in by midday only helps. Tide is the best of the week - a 1.87 ft high at 3:45 AM, a short dip, then a long uninterrupted fall from the 11:59 AM high all the way to -0.06 ft at 8:09 PM. Wind stays under 9 kt all day, so lures are fully workable, but with water at 89.1 F the trout go deep and sulky by mid-morning, which is why this scores EITHER rather than a clean lure day - croaker will beat plastic from 10 AM on.

Start on top in the dark-to-daylight change - bone Super Spook Jr walked slow across the sandbar edges while the water is still high off the 3:45 AM high. When the sun clears the horizon go subsurface with a MirrOdine XL in chrome/black, then drop to a 1/4 oz jighead and a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain worked on the drop-offs. Water is 89.1 F - after 10 AM go up to a 3/8 oz head and grind it slow and deep on the guts, and quit expecting topwater.

Live croaker on a 3/0 kahle, free-lined or on a light fish-finder rig, dropped right on the drop-off edges - that is the play once the sun gets high and the trout sulk deep in this 89 F water. Early, a live shrimp under a popping cork over the reef shell works fine. Fish the long afternoon fall and let the current sweep the bait naturally down the edge.

The measured 3.0 kt SSW mean over 48 hours has left the water settled rather than stirred, so the throat and the Gulf side hold sandy green on the incoming. Back on the bay side of the pass expect a shade of stain where the shallow flats warm and the light SW pushes off the marsh.

Redfish will be pushing the sand along the guts on that big evening fall - a gold spoon or a live finger mullet under a cork on the bar edges. Flounder stack on the drain points as the water drops toward that -0.06 ft low, so a 1/4 oz jighead dragged slow will pick up a few.

Best clarity read of the first half of the week - the wind clocks E and NE early then SE by afternoon, which is the direction that draws Gulf water in rather than blowing the bay out, and the measured history shows nothing strong enough to have dirtied anything. Tide gives a firm 1.72 ft high at 4:07 AM falling to 1.34 ft at 9:28 AM, then a long solid fall from the 1:25 PM high to 0.13 ft at 9:02 PM. Wind stays 4 to 9 kt so lure control is easy, and the 50 to 60 percent storm chance means cloud cover that keeps the bite alive longer than a bluebird day - but 89 F water still means croaker earns its keep after mid-morning, hence EITHER.

Cleanest water of the week so far - go natural and translucent. Walk a bone or chrome/black Super Spook Jr over the sandbar edges from grey light until the sun is up, then a MirrOlure She Dog if you want more noise under the cloud cover. Switch to a 1/8 to 1/4 oz jighead with a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in Opening Night or a Lil John in Texas Roach and fish it slow along the drop. Watch the radar and be off the water before the cells build.

Live shrimp under a popping cork worked along the reef and shell on the morning fall, then live croaker free-lined on the deeper drop-offs once the sun is high. Piggy perch on a light Carolina rig is a good backup if the shrimp run small. Keep an eye on the thunderstorms - do not sit out there under a building cell.

Light easterly then SE flow on top of a calm 48 hours holds clean water in the throat of the pass and out over the bar. The bay side will be a touch dirtier where afternoon thunderstorms roll through and stir the shallows.

Redfish will work the shoreline sand and the guts through the long afternoon fall - live mullet under a cork tight to the bar. Flounder are moving to the drains on the drop to 0.13 ft at 9:02 PM; slow-drag a 1/4 oz head with a Sea Shad on the sand-to-mud transitions.

Straight S wind at 4 to 9 kt all day is the direction that builds green water here, and it is stacked on top of a calm measured 48 hours - clarity is the best of the week so far. Tide softens a shade from midweek: 1.55 ft high at 4:21 AM to a 1.13 ft low at 9:36 AM, then a long lazy fall off the 2:48 PM high to 0.39 ft at 9:52 PM. Wind under 9 kt keeps lures workable all day, so EITHER is the right call - artificials early, live croaker after the water heats past 85 F by mid-morning. New moon adds punch to the current.

New moon and clean water - fish a bone Super Spook Jr right at grey light on the bar edges, and expect blowups until the sun is fully up. Then go to a MirrOdine XL in a natural chrome pattern on the deeper edges, and finish with a 1/4 oz jighead and a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain or a Lil John in Texas Roach dragged along the drop. Keep colours natural and translucent - the water is clear enough that loud dark plastic will spook them.

Live croaker is the money bait on a new moon with 85-plus water - 3/0 kahle, free-lined into the current and let it swim down the drop-off. Live shrimp under a popping cork over the shell works the first two hours of light. Fish the afternoon fall off the 2:48 PM high and let the current do the work.

All-day S flow on a settled system is the classic green-water setup for this pass - expect good visibility through the throat and along the Gulf beach. Bay side of the pass carries a light stain from the storm runoff and the shallow flats.

Redfish will hold on the guts and cuts with the new-moon current - live mullet or a cut piece on the bottom against the sand edge. Flounder pick up on the long evening fall toward the 0.39 ft low; work drains slowly with a 1/4 oz head.

Wind backs SW through the morning at 9 kt - not enough to blow this system out at that speed, but it is the wrong direction and it takes a little edge off the clarity compared to Wednesday and Thursday. Tide is the weakest so far: only 1.42 ft at the 4:32 AM high falling to 0.89 ft at 9:54 AM, and the afternoon push to 4:06 PM is slow and drawn out. Lures still work fine at 9 kt, but with 88 F water and thin current the fish get lazy fast, which is exactly where live bait earns its money - EITHER stands.

Weaker water means you have to cover ground. Start with a Super Spook Jr in bone at first light, then go straight to a 1/4 oz jighead with a Down South Super Model in plum/chartreuse or morning glory to give them something to see through the SW stain. Work the windward edges of the bars and the deeper cuts where what current there is gets funneled. If the topwater bite dies by 8 AM, go to 3/8 oz and slow-crawl the drop.

With a slow tide, live shrimp under a popping cork is the best tool you have - the pop calls them in when the current will not. Work the cork along the reef edges and the bar drop-offs, and give the shrimp time to swim. Live croaker on a free line works the deeper edges in the heat of the day.

SW at 9 kt overnight and through the morning pushes bay water toward the pass and puts a stain on the back side - it is not enough velocity to chocolate anything, but the edge comes off. The Gulf side and the throat stay sandy green on the incoming.

Redfish are your better bet on a weak tide day - live mullet or cut bait on the bottom in the guts, or a gold spoon along the shoreline sand. Flounder will be scattered with the soft tide; hit the drains on the last of the morning fall.

South at 13 kt overnight easing to 9 kt by dawn is the good direction - it pushes clean Gulf water into the pass and clarity holds up better than Friday. Trouble is the tide: 1.32 ft high at 4:42 AM to a 0.68 ft low at 10:20 AM is a thin fall, and the long afternoon rise to the 5:17 PM high is slow. At 9 to 13 kt this is prime soft-plastic drifting along the windward edges, so lures are absolutely workable, but 88 F water again pushes the mid-day advantage to croaker - EITHER.

Wind-driven day - drift the windward edges with a 1/4 to 3/8 oz jighead and a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain or a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in Opening Night, and keep the rod tip low to cut line sag. Topwater still works the first hour if the wind is down to 9 kt - a She Dog throws well into a breeze and calls fish up through chop. Fish the slick spots and the streaks where the wind lines set up over the drop.

This is a good popping cork day - live shrimp under a cork drifted along the windward shorelines and bar edges; the chop and the cork together sell it. Live croaker on the deeper drop-offs when the sun gets high and the trout sink. Let the wind push the drift and cover water.

Sustained S flow at 9 to 13 kt is exactly the direction that builds green water at San Luis Pass, and it is stacked on a calm week. Expect a sandy edge along the windward bar where the chop works the bottom, and cleaner water in the throat and toward the Gulf.

Redfish love a windy sand edge - a live finger mullet under a cork right in the wash, or a gold spoon along the bar. Flounder will be tighter to the drains on the thin morning fall to 0.68 ft.

S at 4 to 9 kt early swinging SE by mid-morning is the best direction in the book here and keeps the pass green. Tide is better than Saturday - 1.27 ft at 4:51 AM down to 0.51 ft at 10:52 AM gives a real fall that runs right through the first light hours, then a long slow build to a 1.71 ft high at 6:24 PM. Wind stays workable for lures all day; the only knock is that 88 F afternoon water, which is where live croaker takes over - EITHER stands.

Falling water through the whole morning - work it. Bone Super Spook Jr on the bar edges at grey light, then a MirrOdine XL in chrome/black as the sun comes up, then a 1/4 oz jighead with a Lil John in Texas Roach or a Down South in Chicken on a Chain along the drop-off as the water pulls off the flats. Keep colours on the natural side in this clean green water. Move on the fall - do not stand in one spot.

Live shrimp under a popping cork worked down the draining edges through the morning fall, then live croaker free-lined on the deeper drop-offs from mid-morning on. Piggy perch is a solid alternative for bigger trout. Position where water drains off the flats into the guts and let it come to you.

S to SE flow at 4 to 9 kt on a week with no blowout wind in the measured record - that is the setup that keeps clean water in the pass. Bay side runs slightly more stained where the afternoon storms churn the flats.

Redfish will feed hard on the morning drain - live mullet under a cork at the mouths of the guts, or a spoon on the sand. Flounder are on the drains as the water drops to 0.51 ft; slow-drag a jighead on the sand-to-mud edge.

Cleanest water read of the whole stretch - SSE at 6 to 9 kt on top of a week with no blowout wind anywhere in the measured record, which is the direction and speed that pack green Gulf water into the pass. Tide is strong again: a 1.24 ft high at 4:51 AM feeding a long uninterrupted fall all the way to 0.4 ft at 11:30 AM, so water is moving through the entire first-light window. Wind stays under 9 kt and the sky goes mostly sunny, so lures are fully in play - EITHER only because the afternoon climbs to 92 F and the trout will sink and sulk on you.

Clear green water and a long fall through daylight - this is the best artificial morning of the week. Start with a bone Super Spook Jr walked over the bar edges before sunrise, then a MirrOdine XL in chrome/black once it is light. Drop to a 1/8 to 1/4 oz jighead with a Lil John in Texas Roach or a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in Opening Night and fish the drop-offs as the water pulls to the 11:30 AM low. Keep it natural and translucent, use fluorocarbon leader, and lengthen your casts - they will see you in this water.

Live croaker on a 3/0 kahle free-lined into the moving water on the deeper drop-offs, especially once the afternoon pushes toward 92 F and the trout go deep. Early, a live shrimp under a popping cork along the shell and the bar edges through the fall. Fish the outgoing all morning and let the current carry the bait down the edge naturally.

Days of light S and SE flow with no strong N, W or SW wind in the 48-hour record leaves the pass about as clean as it gets in September. Expect real visibility on the Gulf side and in the throat, with only a light sandy tint back on the bay side.

Redfish will be tracking the morning drain hard through that long fall - live mullet under a cork at the gut mouths, or a gold spoon worked along the sand. Flounder are strong on a long fall to 0.4 ft; drag a 1/4 oz head slowly across the drains and the sand-to-mud edges.